The League – The Complete Season One (2009/Fox Blu-ray)
Picture:
B Sound: B Extras: B
Episodes: B-
FX has
now well established itself as a front runner in producing creative television
series. From Nip/Tuck to It’s Always
Sunny in Philadelphia FX seems to have a little bit of everything. Adding to that ‘little bit of everything’ is
FX’s new series The League. Now on Blu-ray is The League: The Complete Season One, which consists of all 6
hilarious episodes from first season.
The 6 episode run is all too short (as FX was testing the waters), but
the set nicely includes extended cuts of each individual episode.
The
premise of the series is not all too difficult as it chronicles the daily
activities of a group of long time friends and their fantasy football
league. By this point everyone should be
fully aware of what the social behemoth fantasy football is as it has taken the
world by storm. Just as fantasy football
has taken the world by storm, it seems to have also taken over this cast of characters
lives as well. The cast of this
outrageous series seemingly spends every waking moment worrying about stats and
how to essentially screw each other over.
Whereas it may seem like a watered down Always Sunny, The League stands
on its own as the characters are not only horribly narcissistic, but have a
soul unlike the cast of Always Sunny.
The
characters are a mix of doctors, lawyers and all in between, but what stands
out about the series is the journey the friends are taking together. ‘The league’ that these guys are in is just a
loose structure point to fuel the crazy situations they get in and to give
substance to what would otherwise land them in prison. The series is wonderfully hilarious with the
likes Mark Duplass (Pete), Nick Kroll (Ruxin), Stephen Rannazzisi (Kevin), Paul
Scheer (Andre), Jonathan Lajoie (Taco) and the beautiful Katie Aselton (Jenny)
all make possible with their unusual and creative brand of comedy that is
centered in perfect timing. The writers
did a great job in Season One and I
can’t wait to see what Season Two has
to hold. All the trash talking and
ruthless antics this crew doesn’t stop at fantasy football as each action
burrows its way into each others personal lives, with no telling where the
atrocities will end.
The
technical features of this first season are merely adequate, but get the job
done and are an upgrade from anything that DVD would deliver. The picture is a crisp, clean 1080p, 1.78 X 1,
AVC @ 19 MBPS widescreen that for the most part demonstrates wonderful
sharpness, but at the same time lacks depth and vibrant color. The black levels are nicely done as they are
well balanced and for a first season of 6 episodes I am happy overall. The sound is a nice 5.1 DTS-HD Master Audio
that mainly comes from the front as this is a dialogue based series, but the
rear speakers kick in during bar scenes and for musical interludes.
The
extras are fun and include Bloopers; Deleted Scenes; Alt Nation featurette; 3
Penis Wine Infomercial; Vaginal Hubris; Birthday Song; Legalize Kevin’s Public
Smoke; Mr. McGibblets Fun House & Dojo.
Every extra is hilarious and heightens all the great aspects of the
series. Describing the extras individually
would make little sense unless you have scene each episode as they are mainly
inside jokes, acting as extensions of already hilarious moments.
Great
series that I feel will just get better with time. Welcome to the League!
- Michael P. Dougherty II
